Prosecution Rests in Child Drowning Trial

Published 8:00 pm, Tuesday, July 1, 2003

A judge presiding over the trial of a woman accused of drowning her 4-year-old son did not allow the prosecution's psychiatrist to resume testifying Wednesday on whether she knew her actions were wrong.

Christine Wilhelm, of Hoosick Falls, faces second-degree murder charges in Luke's drowning April 16, 2002, in the bathtub of their home near Vermont. She also is accused of attempted murder, trying to do the same to her son Peter, then 5, who escaped. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Wilhelm claims she drowned Luke because she believed her husband had joined a satanic cult and planned to harm both children.

Prosecutors paid psychiatrist Park Dietz $25,000 to evaluate the 39-year-old during a 10-hour videotaped session May 16-17, 2002, and determine whether she knew her actions her wrong.

Dietz, who evaluated convicted child-killers Andrew Yates and Susan Smith, confirmed that Wilhelm was a paranoid schizophrenic, and testified Tuesday that she knew the consequences of her actions. But he said in court he could not conclude whether she knew drowning Luke was wrong, frustrating prosecutors.

Dietz testified he had opinions on both sides of the argument, since evidence supported each, prompting Judge Patrick McGrath to bar further testimony on it.

In court Wednesday, prosecutors tried to persuade McGrath to allow Dietz to give his opinion on why Wilhelm knew she was wrong. The judge declined, The Record of Troy reported in Thursday editions.

"He can't elaborate on an opinion he doesn't have," McGrath said. "You know the rules of evidence. You can't try to do indirectly what you couldn't do directly."

Defense attorney Jerome Frost declined to cross-examine.

The trial will resume Monday when both sides deliver their summations.